forum "Watching Cityscapes Turn To Dust" | Small Group, CLOSED (5/5) STALKERS WELCOME

Started April 27, 2023 by @Vitae_

tune

Theodore visibly faltered, mind going blank as the violence he expected was replaced by a tiny girl about his age shushing him. Should he be offended he'd just been shamefully quieted by a potential enemy or remorseful because she had a point? He settled on confused, with a healthy dose of wariness mixed in.

"And why would I go with you?" he demanded, mindful of matching her volume. He pushed himself back onto his feet, quickly putting some more distance between them until his back was a mere few inches from the wall. His earlier plan to give himself an advantage in fighting off attackers had just ended up leaving him cornered. Again, he cursed his impulsivity.

Just to the right of his right boot was his knife, but Theo made no move to dive for it just yet. He didn't want to give this girl any reason to attack him since, strangely, she hadn't already. 'A trap?' he wondered, a shiver traveling down his spine at the notion. The albino girl didn't look like much, but if he'd learned one thing after the end of the world, it was to not trust anyone.

His fingers inched towards the small, metallic cylinder in his pocket, and with a flash—literally—he flicked the flashlight on and directed it right at the girl's eyes. His heart pounded, blood rushing in his ears, but—

No, she definitely wasn't from the Far Side.

He lowered his flashlight, an apology at the tip of his tongue for the unprompted sensory assault, but a sudden movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Someone shuffling quickly past a space in the shelves, headed towards the exit. 'There's more, they're trying to close me in', was one of his last coherent thoughts before the adrenaline of the situation forced him to act.

His eyes darted toward the albino girl again, wincing at her reaction to the light and wondering if her senses were augmented in any way, before sending up a quick prayer to whatever god might be listening. Theo slung his backpack off his shoulder, catching it in the crease of his elbow and promptly throwing it right past the albino girl. He ducked and closed long fingers around the hilt of the kitchen knife and leaped the counter again, this time landing with a solid thump right next to his backpack, which he snagged with his free hand as he pointed the knife threateningly towards Misty.

Taking slow steps back, facing the inside of the store, he raised his voice just loud enough to be heard by both girls—because, now that he was closer to the exit, he could see the other one in perfect clarity.

"What is this, a trap?" he called distrustfully, eyes darting between the girls. "Working together to close me in and steal my supplies? Well, you can't have them. I don't have enough," he added firmly, glaring this time at the blonde girl as if daring her to attack. That was before his whirling thoughts registered the scent of blood, heavy in the air, and the wounded way the blonde was holding her side.

For the second time in several minutes, his brain stuttered to a stop. The tip of his knife lowered just slightly, and he swallowed nervously. "This is a trap, right?" he said, sounding far less certain this time around. "You guys are friends?"

Even as he said it again, he knew he was wrong. Unless the blonde girl was really good at acting and had access to a large amount of fresh blood… 'She needs help,' his brain informed him, and this time, Theo shushed himself.

"Because They are slowly closing in on us." Misty replies. "They're about-"

She nearly screams when the man shines his light in her eyes.

"What the hell, asshole? If I was one of them, I wouldn't be standing here listening!" she scream whispers.

"And where are you going, there's-" she starts before stopping, unwilling now that the man had proven himself to be a bit of an ass - which was understandable, but there would be definite signs of her Otherness if she was Other - to reveal that she knew that there was someone who might pose a threat there, if she could even get up.

"No, asshole, it's not a trap. She's here for medical supplies. Not for your insensitive ass. Mr. I Like to Shine Lights in to Random People's Goddamn Eyes Because I'm Scared Senseless." she snaps quietly before taking a deep breath and calming herself.

"No. She's not a friend, no my eyes are not augmented - at least, not in the conventional sense - and yes, the girl is currently bleeding out and dying." she says.

Mercy was barely a foot away from the front door when her nausea came back upon her like a tidal wave. It was funny how things had worked out; she had been fine when traveling for miles through the scorching heat, but she was going to end up dying right before she was able to get away with medicine that could help her. She wanted to force herself forward, ignoring the throbbing sensation she felt coursing through her body, but the pain eventually grew so bad that her legs gave out beneath her. She leaned against the doorframe, allowing herself to slowly slide to the floor. Darkness began to seep into the edges of her vision, and she could hear nothing except the loud pulsing of her heartbeat as she slumped against the door post.

Eventually, the darkness of her vision cleared, and for the first time since the incident, she gathered the courage to look down at the wound on her leg. It was even worse than she thought. The wound cut deep— so deep that she was surprised it didn’t expose bone, and her blood was creating a small puddle on the floor. She felt like she was going to throw up just from looking at it, so she changed her attention to the two individuals on the other side of the room.

She could see them clearly now. It was a girl and a boy who were likely around her age, and from the looks of it, they weren’t friends. The boy was standing on top of one of the counters, wielding a knife. Mercy and the boy had made eye contact once, and despite the hint of sympathy on his face, her hand went instinctively towards her knife. No one could be trusted.

“This is a trap, right?” he had said. “You guys are friends?”

Mercy barely heard the woman’s comment, her pain once again flaring up, but she still answered the man’s question.

“No, no. Of course not. No one has friends in this forsaken city.” She squirmed, suddenly finding it difficult to breathe. “We’re all just here trying to get supplies.”